During the 1983 Port Huron to Mackinac Singlehanded Challenge Peter Fisher died of a heart attack. The Fisher family in his memory commissioned an artist to design and cast a likeness of his boat Pelican, and created this award. First awarded in 1984 it has come to represent the pinnacle of achievement for Great Lakes singlehanded sailors.

The GLSS Board of Directors follow pre-determined selection criteria, which is based on years of participation as well as competitive standing. These two elements account for the basis, continuation and spirit of this Great Lakes challenge.

Recipients and Trophy Details
Text of the 1998 Award Presentation

History
The Great Lakes Singlehanded Society hereby creates the President's Challenge Cups. These trophies are intended to recognize the outstanding effort of skippers in their first Solo Challenge.  Separate trophies will be awarded to the first time finisher with the fastest corrected time in both the Port Huron and Chicago to Mackinac Solo Challenges, the Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth Solo Challenge, or the Lake Erie Solo Challenge.  These awards are intended to increase the number of first time skippers in any of the Membership-granting Solo Challenges.

Eligibility
The President's Challenge Cup shall be awarded to a first time skipper in the Port Huron to Mackinac Solo Challenge, Chicago to Mackinac Solo Challenge, Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth Solo Challenge, or the Lake Erie Solo Challenge with the fastest corrected time in a monohull boat. The winning skippers will have been certified by the Board of Directors to have completed the Port Huron or Chicago  to Mackinac Island Singlehanded Challenge, the Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth Singlehanded Challenge, or the Lake Erie Solo Challenge within the rules set forth by the Race Committee. Once a skipper has completed a Singlehanded Challenge and has been granted membership in the Society, he or she is no longer eligible to receive a President's Challenge Cup on any other lake.

The Trophies
The trophies will be engraved with the name of the recipient and year of the award. They shall be kept on display at the Great Lakes Yacht club of the winning skipper. The Yacht Club or skipper must guarantee the return of the award prior to the annual awards ceremony on Mackinac Island the following year, to Duluth following the completion of the subsequent Trans Superior Solo, or to Erie, PA for the Lake Erie Solo Challenge awards ceremony. The trophies will remain the property of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society and their display is solely at the direction and within the control of its Board of Directors. The trophies shall only be removed from their places of display for the purposes of engraving, cleaning, and presentation at an award function. At the discretion of the governing body, recipients may receive a small keeper trophy.

Governing body
The ownership and governing body of the trophies shall be the Board of Directors of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society who alone, based upon a popular vote, may select recipients and who alone, based upon a two thirds majority, may amend this Deed of Gift.

President's Challenge Cups - Details & Recipients

 

Mike Silverthorne Memorial Trophy

Lake Michigan solo sailors are fond of saying that "It takes a pair to do it alone." More often than not, Mike, known to his close friends as "Laughing Gull" found himself half of the pair; he was constantly assisting his fellow singlehanders whenever and wherever it was needed. In 2002, our good friend and veteran singlehander died while competing in the Lake Michigan Solo Scramble. The following year, the Mike Silverthorne Memorial Trophy was created to honor Mike's memory.  It is awarded to the skipper who best embodies the exemplary spirit of Mike Silverthorne and Solo Sailing.  As such, it is only presented upon committee recommendation after consideration of their significant contribution and merits.

Trophy Details and the Recipients of the Mike Silverthorne Memorial Trophy

 

Ralph Eilberg Award for Outstanding Seamanship

Ralph Eilberg was one of the Founding Fathers, Charter Member, and past President of the GLSS. Ralph attended Penn State University, and completed his Ph.D. studies there. While at Penn State, Ralph was ranked as one of the top ten U.S. collegiate marathon runners. After college, Ralph continued to run - on his 50th birthday, he became an ultra marathon runner by virtue of completing an 80 mile run! Ralph was a professor of BioChemistry at the University of Detroit Dental School, and in addition to being a valued member of the staff, held various patents on biochemical items related to dentistry. Sailing was one of Ralph's greatest loves, and he sailed extensively including a Bermuda roundtrip prior to moving to Michigan. After bringing his boat through the Erie Canal into the Great Lakes, Ralph could be found cruising the lakes every summer, and was a full time liveaboard on his boat in Gibralter, Michigan. In addition to being one of the Founding Fathers of the Society, Ralph established the Port Huron to Chicago Solo Challenge in 1981. Ralph completed the inaugural Challenge that year, and to this date, it is the second longest freshwater solo sailing venue in the world (only the Super Mac and Back is longer). Tragically, Ralph was involved in an automobile accident in 1984 and was nearly killed. He was left incapacitated as a result of the accident and was unable to sail thereafter. In 1985, the Ralph Eilberg Award was established, largely through the efforts of GLSS member Phil LePage. One of Ralph's friends, Ralph Ridge, funded the construction of the trophy, and it was hand-built by Phil. The trophy is awarded only to those skippers who have demonstrated remarkable feats of seamanship upon the high seas world wide.

Trophy Details and Recipients of the Ralph Eilberg Award

 

Commodore Perry Award

The Commodore Perry Award was donated to the Society by several GLSS members who wished to recognize an exceptional sailing performance in the Lake Erie Solo Challenge. The specific criteria of the deed of gift are:

The Lake Erie Solo Challenge Race Committee will make the determination as to which, if any, individual qualifies. The recipient will have the opportunity to display the award until the next Challenge in a place and manner consistent with the significant accomplishment it represents. The Deed of Gift was established in August, 2007.

Trophy Details and Recipients of the Commodore Perry Award